House prices increase in nearly 90 percent of cities

Prices for single-family homes climbed in almost 88 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter as the housing recovery broadened, according to a report, Bloomberg said.

The median sales price rose from a year earlier in 133 of 152 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said in a report today. In the third quarter, 120 areas had gains.

An improving job market and low interest rates are driving up prices by fueling demand for a tightening supply of listings. The national median price for an existing single-family home was $178,900 in the fourth quarter, up 10 percent from the same period last year. That was the biggest gain since 2005, according to the NAR.

"Home sales are on a sustained uptrend," Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, said in the report. "Home sales are being fueled by a pent-up demand and job creation, along with still-favorable affordability conditions and rents rising at faster rates." Read more